This invention relates generally to cartons for packaging multiple articles such as beverage cans, bottles and the like, and more particularly to a paperboard carton with an article dispenser for providing an access opening through which articles in the carton may be dispensed one by one.
Beverage cartons with an article dispenser at a carton corner are known in the art. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,194 in which a tear panel is disposed astride a corner fold line. The tear panel is defined by a tear line that is formed in a side wall and extends into a side end flap. The tear panel includes a push tab located within the side end flap while the panel is glued to a bottom end flap that has an extension of the tear line. The extension allows the tear line to reach the bottom wall of the carton. To open the carton, the push tab is pressed and separated from the side end flap. Then, the tear panel is gripped and pulled outwardly, which causes the tear line to break all the way down to the bottom wall. By this means, the tear panel is allowed to swing down together with a part of the bottom end flap, which creates an access opening through which the cans in the carton are exposed. The opening is so dimensioned that at least part of the periphery of the opening serves as a can stopper and prevent the cans from spontaneously rolling out of the carton through the opening. However, this stopper may not fully function once tears develop in the periphery of the opening after some cans have been removed through the opening. Further, the push tab has sometimes been found not user-friendly because it is not easy to separate it from the side end flap. This is because the entire side end flap tends to easily yield to pressing force applied to the push tab and, as a result, sufficient shearing stress is hardly induced along the tear line.
What is needed, therefore, is a carton that is provided with an improved article dispenser that is convenient to use. Such a carton should have a reliable article stopper as well as a user-friendly push tab.
According to this invention in one form, the article dispenser of a carton is provided with a user-friendly push tab. The carton of the invention comprises first and second walls connected together along a corner fold line and disposed with an angle with respect to each other to define a corner of the carton along the corner fold line. A tear line is formed in the first wall and extends into the second wall to define a tear panel disposed astride the corner fold line. The tear panel includes a push tab connected to the tear panel along a transverse fold line extending transversely of the corner fold line.
This form of the invention brings the push tab to the carton corner which is created by the first and second angularly disposed walls. Therefore, upon pressing of the push tab, the first and second walls act as braces for each other and provide resistance strong enough to induce adequate shearing stress along the tear line. This results in easy separation of the push tab from the first and second walls, which in turn facilitates cutting of the tear panel along the tear line.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the transverse fold line may extend transversely across the tear panel so that the push tab is defined between the transverse fold line and a part of the tear line.
In another preferred embodiment, the transverse fold line may comprise a first portion emanating from a portion of the tear line within the first wall and extending to the corner fold line, and a second portion emanating from a portion of the tear line within the second wall and extending to the corner fold line. The first and second portions of the transverse fold line may converge on the corner fold line so that the transverse fold line assumes a generally V-shape when the first and second walls lie flat in a plane. The angle between the first and second portions of the transverse fold line may be an obtuse angle. Alternatively, the transverse fold line may be disposed concave to the push tab when the first and second walls lie flat in a plane.
The present invention in another form provides a blank for forming the aforementioned carton.
The present invention in still another form provides a carton comprising top and bottom walls interconnected by a pair of opposed side walls to form a tubular structure, an end closure structure provided at each end of the tubular structure to at least partially close each end of the tubular structure, and a tear line formed in one of the side walls. One or each of the end closure structures includes a side end flap connected to the one side wall along a corner fold line and extending toward the other side wall. The tear line extends into the side end flap of the respective end closure structure to define a tear panel disposed astride the associated corner fold line. The tear panel includes a push tab connected thereto along a transverse fold line extending transversely of the associated corner fold line. This form of the invention facilitates tearing of the tear panel along the tear line.
The present invention in a further form provides a carton comprising top and bottom walls interconnected by a pair of opposed side walls to form a tubular structure, and an end closure structure provided at each end of said tubular structure to at least partially close each end. One or each of the end closure structures comprises a side end flap, a bottom end flap and a web panel. The side end flap is connected to one of the side walls along a corner fold line and extends toward the other side wall. The side end flap is formed with a tear line for defining a tear panel detachable from both the side end flap and the one side wall. The tear line emanates from the lower edge of the side end flap and extends toward the corner fold line. The bottom end flap is foldably connected to the bottom wall and extends toward the top wall to overlap at least in part with the tear panel. The web panel foldably interconnects the bottom end flap and the tear panel and is disposed in face-contacting relationship with both the outside surface of the bottom end flap and the inside surface of the tear panel. The web panel is detachably connected to one of the bottom end flap and the tear panel.
In this form of invention, the tear panel may be detached from the carton without disturbing the integrity of the bottom end flap. The bottom end flap may, therefore, be allowed to remain in an upright position even after the tear panel is detached and be available as an article retainer or stopper for blocking undesired exit of articles through the access opening created by the detachment of the tear panel.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tear line may extend into the one side wall and terminates at the junction between the one side wall and the bottom wall. The web panel may be separated apart from the bottom wall by an aperture formed in the web panel. Further, the tear panel may be detachably connected to the bottom wall along a frangible line. Such a frangible line may extend between the aperture and tear line.
In another preferred embodiment, the one or each end closure structure may further comprise a second side end flap foldably connected to the other side wall. The second side end flap may extend from the other side wall to the first side end flap to be secured to the first side end flap. The second side end flap may be secured also to the bottom end flap to retain the bottom end flap in an upright position.
The present invention in a further form provides a carton blank for forming the carton of the preceding form of the invention.
According to the present invention in still further form, the article dispenser of a carton is provided with another type of user-friendly tear initiating means. The article dispenser comprises a tear panel defined in a first wall of the carton by a tear line so that when the first wall is cut along the tear line, an access opening is formed to permit access to the articles within the carton. The tear panel includes a push tab connected thereto along a first fold line to facilitate cutting of the first wall along the tear line. The dispenser further comprises a second fold line formed in the first wall and disposed to at least partially surround the push tab such that at least two yielding tabs are defined between the push tab and the second fold line.
Unlike the article dispenser of the first form of the invention, the dispenser of this form of the invention promotes yielding of a part of a carton wall (the yielding tabs) upon pressing on the push tab. When the push tab is pressed, the yielding tabs easily yield to the pressing force and fold inwardly along the second fold line. This causes the yielding tabs to also fold along the tear line at a sharpest possible angle with respect to the push tab, which in turn promotes breaking of the tear line so that the push tab is separated from the yielding tabs.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention of this form, the tear line may be generally V-shaped, and the push tab may be located adjacent to the corner of the V-shaped tear line. The tear line may comprise first and second portions diverging from the corner, and the first fold line may extend between the first and second portions to lie transversely across the tear panel.
In another preferred embodiment, the dispenser may further comprise a cut line extending between the second fold line and the push tab to define a boundary between the yielding tabs.
Other advantages and objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.